Ripple
by miforever29
Summary: When the impossible becomes possible and the line between dreams and reality blurs, what will Naruto do when he's confronted with the past? And what does this mean for the present and the future? Time travel fic. On Hiatus
1. Chapter 1

This will be the only disclaimer I place on this story, as I think it's pointless to continually write disclaimers throughout the story. One should be more than enough. SO…

**Disclaimer: **No, I do not own, nor do I claim to have ever owned any of Kishimoto's works. All characters belong to their respective owners (taking into account any OC's I may introduce) and I'm not gaining any profit from this.

**Summary:**When the impossible becomes possible and the line between dreams and reality blurs, what will Naruto do when he's confronted with the past? And what does this mean for the present and the future? Time travel fic. Spoilers more than likely. At least up to chapter 406 anyways.

**Communication Punctuation.****  
**"Talking"  
'Thoughts'  
_'Kyuubi'_  
_Ninjutsu and other techniques._

**Warnings:** Rated T for Violence, Course Language, Adult Themes and Sexual References.

**Author's Note: **Well, my first fiction in the Naruto-verse. Been a fan for a very short time compared with others (only 8 months as of this post), so I hope this turns out well. This chapter wasn't Beta read, so sorry for any mistakes.

**Ripple**

_Chapter 1_

"Shit!"

Naruto dodged to the side, just avoiding a large fireball, the heat scorching his exposed skin as it blew past. He hit the ground and rolled, partially to absorb the impact, but more to put any stray flames out that may have caught on his clothes. He looked up from his position on the ground at the caster of the jutsu, glaring. The man stood there with his head cocked to the side in amusement. Naruto clenched his jaw in frustration. He couldn't see the bastard's face thanks to that orange mask, but he sure as hell could tell that he was smiling at him.

"Take this!"

Sakura was in the air, rapidly descending from behind the Akatsuki member, her fist charged with chakra. The man didn't even spare her a glance. She was inches away when it happened. One second he was there, the next, he was gone. She crashed into the ground, the rocks crumbling away from the force of the impact. Naruto scrambled to his feet and launched himself out of the destruction zone. He noticed Sai and Kakashi doing the same.

The three of them landed together in a line, facing the newly formed crater. Sakura joined them seconds later, a slightly apologetic look on her face, mixed with an apprehension they all felt. They were exhausted. They'd been on the way home from a routine escort mission to Kirigakure, when they'd been ambushed by Akatsuki. It was the perfect place for an ambush too; a bend in the road between a rock face and a continuous line of trees. They'd been fighting for a good fifteen minutes now, and it was starting to wear them down. What was even more frustrating was that they were only fighting the 'Orange Masked Freak' as Naruto had dubbed him. The 'Plant Man' was simply watching from the trees, and any attempts to engage him in battle were hindered by his partner, who had no trouble intercepting their attacks.

"Nice try," a voice said as the dust settled. They all stiffened. The voice was much too close for comfort.

"Sakura, behind you," Kakashi called out.

"But not good enough."

Sakura started to move forward twisting to face the threat, Kakashi moving with her. Meanwhile Sai and Naruto moved forward, closing in from either side, in order to intercept and block the attack. Inches away from him, it happened again. Naruto and Sai stumbled to a halt; narrowly avoiding colliding with each other. They whipped around simultaneously as both Sakura and Kakashi cried out in pain. Orange face was standing behind them, having just sent their teammates flying.

There was a sickening crunch as Kakashi and Sakura hit the cliff wall.

"Sakura-chan! Kakashi-sensei!" Naruto called out desperately. Kakashi shifted, wincing and gripping his left upper arm, which was sitting at a slightly odd angle. Blood was steadily seeping through his Jounin vest on the same side. Sakura, however, did not move.

"And then there were two," the Mask man said amusedly.

"Shut the hell up!" Naruto yelled, his stomach twisting in anger and worry.

"I'd be more worried about yourself if I were you," he said pointedly.

He barely heard Sai's and Kakashi's shouted warnings as the kunai imbedded itself in his stomach. It seemed as though the Plant Man had decided to join the fight. Pain arched across his stomach as he twisted the knife, digging deeper in the process. He grunted as it was ruthlessly ripped out, dropping to his knees, his hands pressed tightly over the wound. He dimly noted Sai's _Choujuu Giga _beasts leap in between him and his attacker. He concentrated on willing the pain away. He felt a hand fall on his shoulder and winced.

"You okay?" Sai asked.

Naruto grimaced. What kind of question was that to ask someone who'd just had a hole punctured into them? Those thoughts were swept away though as he struggled to his feet, Sai helping.

"I'm fine," he bit out.

"You won't be for much longer though," the Plant Man said.

Naruto turned and glared at him.

"Yes," the mask man said, the humour obvious in his voice. "Zetsu possesses the unique ability to prevent wounds closing, thanks to a chemical naturally produced by his… unusual genetic structure."

The Blonde pushed down the wave of uncertainty that threatened to engulf him as he drew a kunai from his holster. Sai, noticing the motion, pulled out his scroll and began painting furiously.

Time seemed to slow down in that instant he attacked. He could feel every breath filling his lungs, every movement as he pumped his leg muscles. He moved forward, ignoring the pain, tightening his grip on the handle of the kunai as he drew his arm back. His focus was entirely upon the masked man as he released the knife, sending it flying towards him.

His heart skipped a beat.

His right hand side exploded in agony as he felt something shatter. He hit the ground hard and skidded, the ground unforgiving beneath him. As he mercifully came to a stop, he got the impression that someone was yelling at him. He struggled to raise his head, blood dripping into his eyes from one of the numerous cuts that now covered his body. He could see the man approaching, his Akatsuki cloak billowing around his legs. He struggled to his feet, staggering as the world swayed dangerously.

Naruto noticed a flash of movement behind the man, and looked up in surprise at Kakashi, his Sharingan transforming, becoming something more angular.

"The time for games is over," the man said, grasping at the orange mask on his face as he moved it off his face. "It's time you came with me, Kyuubi."

Naruto's eyes locked with his, the glare of his eye trapping him on the spot. It was the Mangekyou Sharingan, but unlike any he'd seen before. Rather than looking like a three pointed shuriken, as with Kakashi's or Itachi's, it consists of a circular ring, three red circles spaced at even intervals around it.

Naruto' heart beating wildly in his chest as he struggled to break eye contact, the air rippling around him as if in protest. He felt himself panicking, more than aware of what the effects of the Mangekyou had done to Sasuke, having witnessed it himself. He gave another mental tug, and surprisingly felt something snap, the ground lurching beneath his feet.

He staggered backwards, his arm connecting with a tree, which he leaned against for support. He struggled to draw air into his lungs, his breath ragged. He didn't notice the person behind him, who was apparently too shocked for words, nor did he notice that the scenery had changed. He coughed, tasting the metallic of blood in his mouth.

He jerked in surprise as a hand fell firmly onto his shoulder. He whipped his head around violently, instantly regretting it as stars burst into his vision, temporarily blinding him.

"Hey, take it easy," a voice said in concern.

Naruto squinted, waiting for his eyes to readjust. The voice was male and not familiar in the least, so why did he find himself trusting it so much? His first instinct was to be suspicious of anyone being nice to him straight off the bat. Being the container for a demon had taught him to be wary. Vision clearing, he looked up into the face of whoever it was. What met his eyes sent a thrill of shock through him.

"Y-you… You're, but that's…" He stuttered. He swayed on the spot before his legs gave out on him completely.

"Whoa there," the man said, catching him before he hit the ground. "You okay?"

"It's not possible…" he whispered to himself.

"Eh? What's that?" the man asked, confusion etched on his face.

"You're the Yondaime," he breathed half in awe, half in disbelief, before succumbing to darkness.

--

Naruto opened his eyes blearily, blinking dazedly at the ceiling, not really seeing it. He noted the steady beeping coming from the heart monitor and tube running down his throat providing him with oxygen, among other tubes and wires attached to him. He would have sighed if he was able to. Hospital again, huh? He didn't particularly like hospitals. When he'd been younger, he'd been to the hospital multiple times for apparent injuries, but thanks to the Kyuubi, anything that had been serious at first, had almost healed by the time any medic was willing to see him. That and when he was actually admitted, they always expected him to stay in bed. He just couldn't stay in a bed all day. It was boring.

He could hear voices nearby. He turned his head towards the murmurings coming from the hall. He found it difficult to understand what was being said. Something told him that he should've been able to hear the conversation clearly. He focused on the voices a little more determinedly and the words made themselves clearer.

"He's been stable for the past few hours now," a female voice said. "Although we don't expect him to be conscious for another week or two."

"Can you give me a rundown of his injuries?" a male voice asked, worry evident in the tone.

"Hmm, let me see," she said. There was a shuffling of papers.

"You need a list?" the male asked disbelievingly.

"Well, yes, the damage was extensive," she said, trailing off slightly.

"There's a 'but' in there."

"It's a little harder to explain if I just randomly answer questions, so it's better if I give a full report," she said, slightly defensive.

The silence was eloquent.

"Right, Patient 103," she said determinedly. "Class III bordering Class IV haemorrhaging from the abdomen due to puncture wounds, as well as several lacerations and contusions to the head and upper torso. Also comminuted fractures to the fourth, fifth and sixth ribs on the right-hand side resulting in flail chest and pulmonary contusions to the corresponding lung."

There was a sharp intake of breath.

"That's hardly the most startling thing," she said warily.

"What do you mean?" the male voice asked.

"These injuries were found upon the first inspection by our medics. However by the time we had finished treating him, approximately one third of the injuries had begun to heal on their own."

Naruto's heart juddered in his chest nervously suddenly more alert. He was in unfamiliar territory here. He didn't even know what country he was in. Seeing the Fourth was just some weird hallucination due to blood loss, and he doubted he was anywhere near Konoha anymore. It was common knowledge in the village that he was a Jinchuuriki, but that didn't mean it was in other nations. Who was to say that they wouldn't hand him over to Akatsuki the moment they found out what he was?

He sat up quickly, instantly regretting it as the room spun alarmingly. He winced as pain radiated from his right side and stomach, the painkillers he knew they were pumping into him not as effective as he thought. Ignoring it as best as he could, he tried to control his nausea as the room righted itself again. He was in the process of pulling off some of the easier to remove wires when the door burst open and the owners of the two voices barrelled into the room.

He stared.

The Yondaime was looking at him in shock, mouthing soundlessly. The nurse next to him appeared to be in a similar state, her clipboard clutched tightly to her chest.

He looked exactly like he did in his portrait, albeit a lot less serious and a lot more worried. His Hokage cloak was currently tucked into the crook of his elbow and he was wearing the standard Jounin wear, with two white bands on each sleave above the wrist and below the elbow the only two personal touches. His hitai-ate was slightly covered by his fringe, longer bangs hanging down on either side like sideburns.

He stood for a second longer before his eyes narrowed and he stepped forward.

"What do you think you're doing?" he asked in disbelief.

Naruto continued to stare at him. This wasn't real; it wasn't possible. It must be some sort of Genjutsu or something, because there is no way some dead guy could be here right now. He was just a hallucination before, right? He flinched as the man reached out towards him. The Yondaime hesitated for a second, his hand lingering over the teenager's shoulder. It was enough. Naruto knocked the hand aside and glared at him. The man's eyes reflected hurt for a second before his expression blanked. He took a step back, glancing imploringly at the nurse.

"Hokage-sama?" she asked apprehensively.

"I thought you said he'd be out for a couple more weeks."

Naruto would've smirked at the impersonator if he didn't have a tube down his throat.

"His healing rate is really remarkable," she said, looking at him strangely. "It's not natural."

Naruto's mirth evaporated.

"Can I talk to him?" he asked.

"I wouldn't really advise-"

"That's not a no," he said, grinning at her.

She sighed dejectedly and approached Naruto.

"Right, I need you to lie down so I can remove the endotracheal tube from your airways," she said, wheeling over a trolley with a few tools. He obeyed. She set about her task, finally pulling the tube quickly and smoothly from his mouth. He coughed, wincing as pain seared across his chest. She looked at him concerned.

"I need to run a diagnostic of his condition now that he's awake," she said to the man across the room. She moved the bed into a sitting position, and hooked a nasal cannula on his face, connecting it with the oxygen supply, before proceeding to look him over, scribbling on her clipboard at intervals.

"So kid," the Yondaime asked. "What's your name?"

"Why should I tell you," Naruto said bitingly, his voice slightly hoarse from lack of use. The Yondaime's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"It would be wise not to anger a ninja boy, especially not a Hokage," he said quietly, the threat obvious in his voice.

Naruto looked at him mutinously and would have replied with a smart retort, but was interrupted by a gasp from the nurse.

"What is it?" the Hokage asked sharply.

"His wounds… they're nearly all healed," she said, her eyes wide. She ran a green glowing hand over his body. "So far as I can tell, the only remaining damage is the puncture wound in his abdomen, his chest injuries and some slight contusions on the head, and even those are significantly recovered compared with his state three days ago."

They both looked at him troubled. He shifted uncomfortably, and winced as his side protested.

"Tomi, I have to ask you to leave," the blonde man said looking at her sternly. "You must also inform the ANBU outside to keep everyone out, is that clear?"

She looked at him, worriedly before nodding uncertainly. She left, casting one last nervous glance over her shoulder before closing the door. He waited until her footsteps faded and then turned to face the boy.

"So, I can't convince you to tell me your name?" he asked seriously.

"I'm not telling my name to someone who isn't real," he muttered.

"Not real?" the Yondaime asked his brow furrowing. "Why do you think that?"

"I don't know," Naruto said in mock thought. "Maybe because _none _of this is possible! You can stop this sick Genjutsu, cos you bastards aren't getting anything from me!"

"You think this is a Genjutsu?"

"What else can it be?" Naruto all but shouted. "You're DEAD!"

The man seemed to be surprised by this declaration, but that just fuelled Naruto's anger more. He was shocked out of his rage though, when a low sound permeated the air. It was a chuckle. The stupid Hokage fake was laughing at him.

"Seriously kid, I think I can take care of myself," he said, grinning. "I'd be a bit worried if I died before I even hit thirty. Besides, it'd be a sad day a Hokage can't take care of himself."

Naruto snorted.

"My name's Namikaze Minato," he said, smiling hopefully.

He looked stubbornly at the man before him, before sagging in defeat.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

* * *

Medical Jargon: (c/o Wikipedia)

**Class III Haemorrhaging:** Blood loss of 30-40 percent. You usually need a blood transfusion for this, although some healthy people don't require one.  
**Class IV Haemorrhaging:** Blood loss 40 percent. The body can't compensate anymore and if they don't get medical attention straight away, they can die.  
**Laceration: **Its cuts and wounds formed by tearing the skin or blunt impacts.  
**Contusion: **Bruise  
**Comminuted Fracture: **Bit nasty, a broken bone where the break occurs, the bone is fragmented.  
**Rib numbers: **The 4th, 5th and 6th are around the middle of your ribcage.  
**Flail chest: **If you break 2 (or more) ribs together in two different places on each, this can occur. When you breathe in, your ribcage will expand, but the broken section will go in and when you breathe out it's the opposite. It bruises your lungs, among other things and needs to be corrected promptly. Flail chest causes death in 50 percent of people who get it.  
**Pulmonary Contusion: **It's bruising of the lungs.  
**Endotracheal Tube: **It's an air tube that runs down your windpipe and sits just above your bronchi. Generally only used for patients who are unconscious, comatose, undergoing surgery, or whose airways are closed off. The amount of times I've seen this used on House… .  
**Nasal Cannula: **Another air tube. It's the one you see all the time on the TV soaps.

Translation Notes: (will be extensive to begin with so I don't get asked constantly about it)

**Chakra: **Hindu in origin. Means "wheel" or "circle" and symbolises the connection between spirit and body. In the Naruto-verse, it's the energy ninja use by combining the spirit and body energies and channelling it to perform Jutsus (techniques).  
**Sharingan: **Copy Wheel Eye. A genetic Bloodline Limit unique to the Uchiha clan (with the exception of Kakashi, who had it transplanted). It allows the user to read their opponent's body language and predict where they will attack from. It also allows one to copy another's abilities, sometimes seemingly in advance.  
**Mangekyou Sharingan: **Kaleidoscope Copy Wheel Eye. An extremely rare form of advanced Sharingan, the actual usage of this eye is usually unique to the user. However they have been known to be used for unbreakable Genjutsu's, creating flames that cannot be doused, and even ripping holes in dimensions.**  
****Yondaime:** 4th Ruler.  
**Hitai-ate: **Forehead Protector.**  
****Kirigakure: **"Village Hidden in the Mist". The Ninja village of Water Country.  
**Hokage:** Fire Shadow  
**Konoha:**Short for Konohagakure. Means "Village Hidden in the Leaves" or "Hidden Leaf" for short.  
**-chan: **Honorific suffix attached to girls names and little boys. Gives off an air of cuteness, and is used as a form of endearment.  
**-sensei: **Teacher. Other than direct teachers, it is generally attached to the names of those who have doctorates (PhD's).  
**Ninpou Choujuu Giga: **Ninja Art, Great Beast Paintings. Sai's primary technique, bringing his ink paintings to life in 3D.  
**Jinchuuriki:**Literally "Power of Human Sacrifice", a name given to those who have a Bijuu (Tailed Demon) sealed inside them.**  
****Genjutsu:** Illusion Technique  
**Ninjutsu: **Ninja Technique  
**Taijutsu:** Martial Arts Technique  
**Akatsuki:**Dawn (red moon). A group hunting down Bijuu and Jinchuuriki. To date, they have captured 7 of 9 Bijuu/Jinchuuriki.  
**Kyuubi: **Nine Tails. Shortened form of "Kyuubi no Kitsune" or Nine Tailed Fox. Naruto's resident demon. Said to be the most powerful of all the Bijuu.  
**Tomi:**Short for Tomiko. Means "Treasured Child".  
**Genin: **First Level Ranked Ninja. Mission levels D/C. Usually do glorified chores or low level escort missions.**  
****Chuunin: **Second Level Ranked Ninja. Mission levels C/B. Escort missions, as well as leading squads and low level assassinations. Are known to go into battle.**  
****Jounin: **Third Level Ranked Ninja. Mission levels A/S. Escorts of high rank as well as leading Genin teams as teachers, teams of Chuunin, as well as performing highly ranked assassinations. Also known to do recon missions.  
**Special Jounin: **A Jounin who specialises in a particular field. (e.g. Ebisu is well known as being an excellent teacher, where as Ibiki specialises in interrogations)  
**ANBU:** Stands for Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai. Means "Assassination Tactics Special Corps". Known as Black Ops in the English version I think... They are selected by and directly report to their respective Kages and perform S Class or higher missions. Their job is to monitor internal affairs as well as carry out any missions set to them. Their identities are kept secret, using code names and wearing masks which bear resemblance to their codenames, to conceal their faces.

Too lazy to do anymore… if you're stuck on some terminology, just say so in your review, and I'll gladly translate.

**End Notes: **Minato is my favourite character in Naruto, and I think he deserves a bit more of a characterisation. I'm a bit reluctant to say exactly when this is set, for fear of spoiling things for the next couple of chapters. I guess you'll all have to wait and see. I also must warn you that I am a bit of a slow writer. I usually take a couple of weeks to get my ideas down and written properly. I'm sorry if that annoys any of you, but that's just how I am. That and I have to work as well. I have to eat and pay rent somehow.

Also, I'm in the market for a Beta reader. If you would like to be my Beta, please send me a PM (not a review) asking. Please keep in mind that I use Australian English, not US English, so a lot of those 'z' will be 's', as well as spelling things like 'colour' with the 'u' in it. Another condition on being my Beta is to tell me when what I'm writing feels 'rushed' or 'wrong'. I want to improve as a writer, so being critiqued for my work is exactly what I need. On the flip side, I don't want be flamed either, so feel free to feed my ego a little, okay?

I have a pretty good idea where I want to take this, and am aiming at writing at least 15-20 chapters. I don't know yet if that's thoughts of grandeur, or making it too small. I'll know once I get there.


	2. Chapter 2

**Ripple**

_Chapter 2_

The Yondaime stared in astonishment at the boy before him. Naruto looked mutinously back, not sure what there was to be so shocked about.

"You said Naruto, right?" the man said, his voice low, a tremor of anger present in the tone.

"Yeah, the one and only," he said bitterly.

A range of emotions seemed to flicker through the man's eyes, his expression remaining neutral until he decided on his final emotion, suspicion.

"I have to look in to a few things," he said, walking towards the door. "You will remain here, under constant ANBU supervision until you recover sufficiently enough or until I state otherwise."

Naruto opened his mouth to protest, but shut it when the man looked at him piercingly.

"I have a few questions for you. Be glad I'm giving you time to recover."

He swallowed nervously, the words dying in his throat.

"We'll talk more soon, Naruto."

Said boy winced as the door slammed behind the fuming Hokage.

--

He stared idly at the ceiling as a beetle bounced off the main light of the room, causing small tinkling noises as it hit the glass globe, the buzzing somewhat soothing. True to his word, the Hokage had posted two ANBU at the door and one at the window. He didn't even manage a step out of his room before he was pushed back into it. And not too gently either. His stomach wound had opened again thanks to Bear-face at the window. He scowled, muttering darkly to himself.

He'd also tried to negate any Genjutsu around him, like Jiraiya had taught him to do. It had had no effect, although, he noted to himself grudgingly, he had never been good at detecting and dispelling the damn things anyway. The problem was that, as much as he hoped it was, it didn't feel like a normal Genjutsu at all. He knew that the eye that had caught him was the Mangekyou Sharingan, but he was under the impression that the illusions created by those eyes would have been torturing him from the start. And yet, nothing had happened. Were they trying to bore him to death?

He scowled again, forcing himself into a sitting position. There were a couple more options of course. Maybe he was dreaming. It was possible, but not really likely. It didn't feel like a dream either. Plus he was under the impression that it was impossible to know when one was dreaming, at least for the most part, and he was more than aware. And then there was the other option, the one he kept stamping on furiously each time it popped into his head, because it was too crazy to even consider a possibility. And yet, it kept coming back, more insistent every time.

What if this wasn't a dream or a Genjutsu? What if it was real and he'd somehow managed to wind up in the past?

He had kept trying to deny this explanation, kept telling himself that it wasn't possible, and yet it would probably explain a few things. He had gone to that window earlier, more to confirm where he was than to actually escape, and had seen the Hokage monument. Thing was, there were only three Hokage heads up there, with the fourth one undergoing construction. He'd also noticed many buildings he didn't exactly recognise at first, but had familiar features here and there.

The most unnerving bit had been when one of the medics had come to check on him again. She had smiled nicely at him, chatting animatedly about goings on in the village, his vastly improved condition and had told him that he wouldn't be eating for at least another few days, before exiting as cheerily as she walked in. No stranger, in his entire life, had been able to smile like that at him knowing full well that the Kyuubi was sealed inside of him, which was common knowledge in Konoha amongst the older generation.

So far the option for 'past reality' had the most support in its favour, but he was unwilling to let go of the idea of it being a Genjutsu just yet.

Deciding that it was too much to worry about just now, Naruto turned and fluffed his pillow before easing himself back down to lay down, pulling his blanket up under his chin. Maybe things would be back to normal when he woke in the morning. And with that doubtful thought, he turned out the light.

--

Minato sighed as he closed the door to his apartment behind himself. It had been a long day. He eased himself into a chair at the dining room table, dropping a report folder in front of him.

"Uzumaki Naruto, huh?" he muttered, his brow furrowing in slight confusion.

It couldn't just be a coincidence that not even one week after he and Kushina had decided to name their child after the protagonist from Jiraiya's book, that a boy would show up bearing that exact name. Even his appearance showed a close resemblance to his own. His first conclusion was that the boy was a spy. It was the obvious conclusion and he hadn't exactly endeared himself to many foreign ninja, taken his past history. And yet, he held another nagging doubt. The boy had appeared seemingly from thin air, right before his very eyes three days prior and had been severely wounded. What's more the boy had recognised him, and instead of fearing him, which would be a normal reaction from an enemy in such a vulnerable situation, he had appeared to hold him in a position of great awe, even in his delusional state.

Minato was aware of the affect his reputation had on people, but he was more accustomed to that being due to his _Hiraishin no Jutsu_, whereas the teen had by all appearances, held him in awe due to his status as the Yondaime Hokage. As of yet, he didn't deem himself to have done anything significant as Hokage, so he was baffled as to why the boy held him in such high esteem in that regard.

There were other things about him that puzzled him too. Like his astounding healing ability. Tomi was definitely right about it not being natural. He filed that away to question the boy about. Something else he had also noted was how the boy had flinched right before he made contact with him. An involuntary movement on the boy's part, but important none the less as it indicated that he was not fully in control of his every action while his guard's up, putting him below Jounin level in that particular area at the very least.

Probably the most important part though, was the boy's certainty that he was somehow trapped in a Genjutsu. He could be faking of course, pretending to think so, or he could really think that it was all an illusion.

He frowned further, running a hand through his hair in frustration. He just didn't know what to make of the boy.

"You look like you've got the weight of the world on your shoulders."

Minato jumped violently. He turned his head to look at the source of the voice. Standing in the doorway was a beautiful woman. Red hair cascaded down her back, its length almost reaching to her knees, a clip on the right-hand side holding the bangs out of her face the only personal touch. She wore a white t-shirt with a zip up to the collar, which was underneath a plain but elegant black dress. Her green eyes sparkled with mirth and a radiance only pregnant women seemed to possess as she rested her left hand on her swollen stomach gently.

"You're supposed to be a ninja and yet you can't sense me walk into the same room as you?" Kushina said, and eyebrow cocked in amusement as she walked forward, pecking him lightly on the cheek.

"Guess I got lost in thought," he said, grinning sheepishly at her.

"Tough day?" she asked, easing herself into a chair with a sigh.

"You have no idea," he said, shifting his chair around the table so that he could be next to her. "How are you doing?"

"Fine, although my feet are killing me," she said, smiling ruefully. "They've swollen to nearly twice their normal size."

"You should relax more," he said.

"Oh no! Don't you start that again."

"But-"

"Uh-uh," she said, looking at him reproachfully. "I'm pregnant, not sick."

Minato sighed. Kushina was your typical redhead – fiery and incredibly stubborn. Arguing did nothing but put both of them in a bad mood, usually resulting in hours of coaxing on his part as well as occasional bribes to get her back in a good mood. Being pregnant had made her mood swings a little more… violent. Deciding to avert the coming disagreement, he tactfully diverted the conversation.

"So how's our boy today?" he asked.

"Restless as ever," she said ruefully, calming down abit. "He landed a good one on my kidney earlier."

Minato grinned fondly, resting his hand on her stomach.

"I can see it now," Kushina said, smiling wistfully. "Naruto's gonna to be one active kid. He's really gonna be a handful by the time he can crawl."

Minato frowned slightly. Should he tell her? He knew it would worry her, but as Jiraiya had taken off for a while doing things he'd rather not think about, she was the only other person who would understand the seriousness of the situation. He hesitated slightly before sitting up straighter in his chair, pushing his nervousness away ruthlessly.

"Kushina, you remember that boy I found the other day?" he asked tentively.

Her expression sobered immediately.

"Is he alright?" she asked, concern evident in her tone.

"He's awake," he said, his brow creasing as a puzzled expression crossed his face. "Despite the fact that the medics predicted that he wouldn't be awake for another couple of weeks."

She frowned thoughtfully.

"What's more," he continued. "Is that he's almost fully recovered, despite the severity of his injuries."

There was a pause, then:

"That's not all, is it," she said shrewdly. It wasn't a question.

"He said his name is Naruto," Minato said, looking directly into her eyes. "Uzumaki Naruto."

She gaped at him, both hands moving unconsciously to her stomach.

"But that's-" she said.

"Yeah, I know," he said, frowning. "I've got him under ANBU supervision until he's fully recovered."

He sighed.

"I was already going to question him about how he came to be here as well as how he got into that condition, among other things, but now…" he said, trailing off.

"It's odd though," Kushina said, looking at her stomach in confusion. "Why would he use my surname instead of yours?"

Minato's breath hitched. The full implications of the boy using Kushina's last name hadn't really hit him until now.

"I guess I'll ask him tomorrow," she continued.

"W-what?!" Minato spluttered. "What do you mean tomorrow?"

"My appointment, remember?" she said testily. "You're supposed to be coming with me."

"Yes, I know, but you can't-"

"Can and will," she cut in firmly.

Minato stared at Kushina, taking in that defiant expression. He wondered minutely, what had possessed him to fall for such a stubborn woman. Jiraiya often had a lot to say on the matter. He sighed. He'd have to tread carefully if he wanted to avoid a full blown argument.

"But he could be dangerous," he said reasonably. "And you're five months pregnant."

"I'm also a ninja," she said, glaring at him. "Pregnant or not, I know how to look after myself. And it's not like I'll be by myself in that room. You're coming with me."

He took in her ever stubborn expression, her arms folded across her chest stiffly; her eyebrows furrowed with her bottom lip thrust up obstinately, and sighed again, this time in defeat.

"Alright."

She grinned cheekily at him, knowing that she had won this round.

"No more than ten minutes though," he put in. A flash of annoyance crossed her face at that, but she caught the pleading look in his eyes and caved.

"Have it your way," she said, sighing as well.

--

**Translation Notes:**

**Hiraishin no Jutsu: **The technique that got Minato his famous nickname of 'Konoha's Yellow Flash'. It allows him to move instantaneously from one point to another using his special kunai with special seals attached to the handle. He can also do this in rapid succession, depending on how many of the special kunai are thrown. It is also possible for him to manually attach a chakra marker to living/nonliving things and teleport to their location. This ability of his was so infamous that it earned him a 'Flee on sight' order issued by the enemy leaders to their troops during the Third Great Ninja War.

**Author's Note: **Wow, I wasn't really expecting such a good response to this. 13 reviews, 16 favs, 29 alerts, added to 2 C2's and has 555 hits, all for the first chapter! _-is overwhelmed-_ All I can say is thank you so much for your support! :D

I hope the chapter length isn't too short. Just seemed like a good place to end it. Remember to let me know if you feel it's rushed. I think I went back to flesh this out more about 3 or so times before I thought it sounded good enough. :P

Until next time guys!


	3. Chapter 3

**Ripple**

_Chapter 3_

To say that he was irritated would be an understatement. He was pissed.

Really pissed.

He'd been poked and prodded by needles and swabs all morning, he ached all over, and to top it all off, his stomach wound was still oozing blood through the stitches, which had alarmed him more than the medics. Kyuubi normally healed his injuries quickly (the serious wounds anyway) but he didn't seem to be healing his stomach at all. The fact that the stupid fox refused to talk to him when questioned about it had put him in an even fouler mood. Being forced to seethe in a tiny hospital room with no prospect of leaving anytime soon, and his ever growing suspicion that this supposed Genjutsu was not all it seemed, had pushed him to his limit. He was ready to explode at the next medic to walk through that door.

As if on cue, the door opened a crack. Naruto set his baleful gaze on the door and opened his mouth to tell the medic to get lost. He was surprised however, to find that it was not a medic walking in. His protest was left unspoken as he took in her long red hair and a noticeably swollen stomach. Her gaze seemed to be fixated on him, both scrutinising and slightly sympathetic.

"What do you want?" he barked a little more forcibly than he would have normally. He didn't need anyone's pity.

She looked at him in slight surprise before settling on a carefully neutral expression.

"Just here to talk," she said calmly, closing the door lightly behind her and walking just as coolly to take a seat in the chair beside his bed. "You look like you need a chat."

Naruto stiffened slightly at that, his gaze narrowing slightly as he looked her in the face.

"You mean you're here to interrogate me," he said darkly.

"Not exactly," she said, a small smirk appearing on her face. "I'm only going to ask you a few questions."

Naruto looked unemotionally at her. She sighed, her expression deflating slightly.

"We have to know if we can trust you."

"So, he sent you, did he?" he asked a little resentfully. He felt his shining image of the Yondaime slip somewhat.

"Actually, no. I convinced him to let me see you," she said, that smirk back in a flash. "He wasn't happy about it, and agreed to let me as long as he was here too."

"Then where is he?" Naruto asked caustically.

She looked away from him, an annoyed expression crossing her face as she set her gaze out the window.

"A team has just arrived back after a long-term mission, so he had to go meet them," she said, her tone matching her expression. "He'll be along after he's done dealing with them."

She continued to scowl at the window for a minute, before turning her gaze back to him, sobering at once.

"Well, I'm Kushina," she said calmly. "And you're Naruto, right?"

He nodded once, turning his gaze away from hers to look at his sheets.

"So, uh, you gonna tell me anything without me asking?" she asked rather awkwardly.

He didn't really know what to do. If it was a dream, it wouldn't matter what he did, but if this was a Genjutsu, he'd be in trouble if he revealed anything secret to Konoha. But what did it matter if he revealed anything about him being a Jinchuuriki? It wasn't like it wasn't exactly common knowledge amongst the Akatsuki bastards. For the first time, he found himself truly wondering about the benefit of casting him under a Genjutsu to interrogate him. They had enough information on the Kyuubi, what more could they possibly want to know? He knew the logical answer to that, he just really didn't want to follow it to its conclusion. He swallowed roughly, trying to hide his newfound panic.

"Don't worry too much," she said calmingly. It seemed as though she'd picked up on his fear. "If you don't want to answer, depending on the question, we can skip it."

He laughed humourlessly at that. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, before snapping them open and looking determinedly at the woman.

"Okay," he said, forcing away his doubt. "Let's do this."

--

Minato walked out of the office as hurriedly as he'd walked in, quickly making his way onto the rooftop highway that was reserved for shinobi. Kushina was going to kill him. Sure, she appreciated his standing as Hokage and the added responsibilities of his role; however she seemed to take personal offense every time his duty got in the way of their time together. Understandable of course, but also unavoidable. He was a little annoyed himself this time. They'd been in the middle of the ultrasound when a messenger had arrived at the window for him. He winced at the look of annoyance that had crossed Kushina's face. He was going to cop an earful when he got back.

He pushed off the apex of a smaller building a little harder than he intended, causing some of the shingles to crack. He sighed inwardly at the thought of all the paperwork that would be awaiting him when he went back to work the next day. A fair slab of that paperwork was dedicated to civilian complaints regarding ninja activities and in particular, roof damage. Nice to know he was contributing to the problem.

He saw the hospital come into view, thanking Kami-sama that it was located somewhat close to Hokage Tower. He landed gracefully at the gates, careful not to land too close to the people milling around the area. It was now lunchtime and most people were taking advantage of their breaks to visit their friends and loved ones in the hospital, so it was a little crowded. He received a few yells and waves of greeting. He raised his hand and waved back a grin appearing easily on his face as he moved across the courtyard and into the foyer. Approaching the reception calmly he leaned on the counter still smiling.

"Heya Tomi, looks like you drew the short straw today," he said amusedly.

She scowled elegantly at him, stamping another admission form rather forcefully.

"Sensei, you shouldn't tease her," someone scolded him from behind in a slightly muffled voice.

He flopped his head over his right shoulder lazily to look at the source, which appeared to be a walking stack of papers.

"I'm just glad I'm not the only person who has to suffer through mountains of paperwork all day," he said brightly causing more scowls and muttering.

With a small thump, the stack was placed on the already crowded reception table, causing Tomi to mutter a few choice words.

"Tomi, I'm shocked. Swearing around children. Whatever shall we do with you," he said in mock horror, pretending to shake his head in disappointment. "Rin's so innocent and untainted" he added with a wink.

"That sounds so wrong," Tomi said uncomfortably. "I swear that Jiraiya's perverted behaviours are rubbing off on you."

Minato looked slightly affronted.

"It's not like I'm a kid anymore anyway," the younger of the two women said exasperatedly, sitting down on a spare chair. Rin was in her usual ninja gear; a black leotard stoping halfway down her upper arms and thighs, with an off-white skirt, splits all the way down both sides tied on at the front in a messy bow, and knee-high toeless socks underneath her ninja sandals. Her Hitai-ate and shuriken holster weren't present, as she was in a hospital. She'd tied her mid length light brown hair back to keep it out of her face, making her clan tattoos, a purple-red stripe on each cheek, stand out even more.

She had made Chuunin at the last exams in Kumo and had been doing a lot of medic experience in the hospital for the past couple of months. Minato was quite proud of her, but he was a little worried about her too. Obito's death had had a significant impact on them all. Rin response had caused the girl to become quieter and withdrawn. Her cheerfulness and quiet optimism had all but disappeared in the wake of her teammate's death, and though she had made considerable progress in the past year, she continued to wear an emotional mask more effective than Kakashi's material one ever would be.

"No, I can't say you are anymore," he said, his tone giving nothing away about his current train of thought.

"Is there a particular reason you're bothering us?" Tomi asked testily, having finished with the previous pile and moved on to the new one Rin had dumped on the desk.

"Ah, yeah," he said, snapping his attention back to his original purpose. "Can you tell me if Kushina's appointment is over? I don't want to walk in on someone else and make a fool of myself. I do that enough already."

"Hmm, hang on and I'll call," she said, sighing as she put down the stamp, and picked up the phone.

Minato was fascinated by these new contraptions. Apparently they'd been in use for some time in a country across the ocean to the East, but had only just hit the market here on the main continent. Their usage in Konoha was pretty rare, but the Hospital had hooked them up throughout the entire building, allowing messages to be instantly relayed from room to room without interfering with the equipment like the shinobi radios did.

Tomi spoke into the mouth piece, made a few confirmation noises before thanking whoever was on the other end and hanging up.

"She finished up about five minutes ago," Tomi said.

"Ah, dammit," Minato said, running a hand through his hair nervously.

"I'm sure if you apologise, she won't be too mad, Minato-sensei," Rin said sympathetically.

"Yeah, I guess," he said tiredly.

He tensed as he suddenly remembered what Kushina had planned to do _after_ the appointment.

"Ah crap, I'll talk to you two later," he said, making a hurried dash for the stairwell, leaving them looking slightly confused.

He crashed through the door, taking the stairs two at a time.

'_Dammit Kushina, you better not have gone in there without me,'_ he thought furiously.

--

Naruto looked at the woman before him nervously. Just as she opened her mouth, the door burst open causing both of them to jump violently. They'd been too intent on each other to sense anyone approaching the room.

Standing in the doorway was a slightly panting Yondaime. The expression on his face was neutral, but his eyes flashed dangerously, and it was easy to tell in the slight stiffness that he held his body, that he was livid. Kushina's expression was one of sheepish amusement as well as a tad of guilt.

"What happened to waiting for me to arrive?" he asked reproachfully.

"You could have been hours," she said reasonably. "I wasn't going to sit around all day waiting for you."

The man sighed exasperatedly before grabbing the chair next to him and carrying it across the room, flicking the door closed as he went. He placed it next to Kushina's, throwing himself into it with another sigh.

Naruto's recent determination had all but evaporated with the recent arrival. He looked at him apprehensively. The man's face was devoid of all emotion, making it impossible for him to determine what sort of mood he had fallen into. The memory of the blonde man's words before he stormed out of his room the day before caused him to wince mentally.

"I thought you said you were going to wait for me to recover," he said, his nervousness apparent.

"We're not going to press you for too many answers," the Yondaime said quietly. "As long as you cooperate, there shouldn't be a problem."

"And I did say we could skip a couple of the questions," Kushina added knowingly.

He nodded slightly in acknowledgement, shifting awkwardly, wincing as his stomach protested. At least their approaches to questioning him were the same.

To be honest, Naruto was relieved. He'd already decided to answer some of the harmless questions and refuse to answer any incriminating ones.

"Well, first off," Minato said seriously. "I'd like to know how you sustained such serious injuries, and how you came to be in Training Field 18."

Naruto ran the question through his head quickly, analysing it for any hidden meaning. If they were Akatsuki, they'd already know the answer to the question and if not, there'd be no real harm in mentioning it. Feeling reassured, he focused his attention back on them.

"My team and I were on a mission," he said. "We were ambushed by Akatsuki on the way back to the village."

"Akatsuki?" Kushina asked, confused.

His gaze flickered over to her face, searching it for any ill will. Not finding any, but still not entirely trusting, he answered her.

"They're a group of S-Class or higher Nuke-nin," he said monotonously. "They all go around wearing black cloaks with red clouds. Two of them attacked our team."

He decided to leave out their objective for now. Even if it was a Genjutsu, he couldn't stand to see their eyes filled with hate like the countless others who knew what was sealed inside him.

"The plant guy pretty much didn't fight at all, although he was the one who gave me this," he gestured to his stomach, grimacing at the pain still there. "Orange Mask, the other guy, said he has some natural ability to stop wounds healing or something."

The Hokage's eyes narrowed slightly at this.

"We'll have to get that looked at more closely," he said calmly. "But I take it that it was this 'Orange Masked' person you were fighting. Your entire team?"

"Yeah," said Naruto, slightly defensively. "He was fast. It was like he could teleport or something. Even Kakashi-sensei couldn't track him."

Minato's eyes sharpened at this, as he looked more intently at Naruto, causing him to grow more nervous.

"Kakashi who?"

Naruto swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat.

"You know, Copy Ninja Hatake Kakashi, man of a thousand jutsus and all that."

Minato seemed to adsorb this slowly, the silence stretching uncomfortably.

"So why's he called the Copy Ninja?" Kushina asked curiously, coming to Minato's rescue.

"I thought everyone knew that," Naruto said in surprise.

"Well not me," she said, smiling at him. "Care to share?"

"It's because of his Sharingan eye," he said, feeling he was stating the obvious. "He turns his opponent's jutsus back on them by copying them."

Minato nodded at this, seeming to accept the answer.

"So, you were fighting this 'Orange Masked' man," he prompted.

"Yeah, ah right. He knocked out Sakura-chan and hurt Kakashi-sensei pretty badly," he said, his stomach lurching as he thought of his friends. "Me and Sai tried to attack him at the same time when the 'Plant Man' joined in. Then 'Orange Mask' got me pretty badly. I didn't even see him hit me, but I went from having a couple of scrapes to barely being able to move in less than three seconds. Last thing I remember is Kakashi-sensei standing behind him as he hit me with Mangekyou Sharingan, and then seeing you before passing out."

"Mangekyou Sharingan?" Kushina asked, eyebrows raised. The Hokage also threw him a questioning look.

"It's more powerful than a normal Sharingan," said Naruto, taping his forehead absently as he thought. "I don't really know how it works, but that bastard Itachi could use it to trap you in unbreakable Genjutsus and Kakashi-sensei could use his to suck things into another dimension.

"But I don't get it," He said, his face screwing up into an almost painful expression as he racked his brain.

"Get what?" the Yondaime asked cautiously.

"Itachi wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan, so how does someone else have the Sharingan apart from Kakashi-sensei?"

"He wiped out the _entire clan_?" the man asked sharply.

Naruto nodded solemnly.

"No one really knows why he did it. It happened when I was seven. But that doesn't matter now," he rushed to add. "Sasuke killed him."

"Sasuke?" Kushina asked quickly.

"His younger brother."

"I thought you just said that he wiped out the entire clan," the adult blonde accused.

"Yeah, everyone except Sasuke," said Naruto hurriedly. "The whole village knows that, it's common knowledge. That's why so many people were looking forward to his match with Gaara at the Chuunin Exams, what with him being the last Uchiha and all."

He folded his arms across his chest irately, turning to look out the window. Much apart from wishing to avoid painful memories, he didn't see the point of all these questions. Apart from what had occurred recently, none of the other questions really had a significant point, nor was the information hard to come by.

'_Not unless they haven't happened already,' _a little whisper of doubt said to him.

He turned back to the two by his bedside, just catching the end of the loaded glance the red-head threw the Hokage. He gave her a curt nod, which put Naruto back on guard.

"Now the real reason I came today," Kushina said. "Is to ask you one question and you _will answer it truthfully._"

Her voice had lost all its warmth. Naruto tensed, bracing himself for whatever it was she was about to ask.

"I want to know why your last name is Uzumaki," she said sternly.

Naruto stared at her, completely nonplussed.

"What do you mean why?" he asked, startled. "It's always been Uzumaki."

"Well, I've never seen you in my life, and I make it my business to know who's in my clan, especially after the war."

"Your clan…?" Naruto said disbelievingly.

"And seeing as I'm the last one," she continued as if he hadn't spoken. "I don't see how you could be an Uzumaki."

Naruto looked at her confused for a second, before turning pale as the full implications of the statement sunk in.

"But, that's-"

"Impossible?" Kushina said, an eyebrow quirked up again in grim amusement. "That's my line kid."

"But… I mean…" he said, stuttering slightly. Naruto looked at the woman before him. Her eyes were accusing and narrowed in suspicion. Her hands had balled into fists and her whole body had gone rigid. He felt confusion beyond anything he'd ever felt before.

Minato let out an explosive sigh, causing both of them to jump violently again.

"I think we'll leave it there today," he said, rising to his feet determinedly. Kushina followed his lead, getting to her feet slowly, her expression eerily blank.

They both exited the room in silence, leaving Naruto to stare at the white door in disorientation as it closed with a deafening click.

--

**Translation Notes:**

**Kami-sama:** 'Kami' is a general term for a God, while 'sama' is an honorific used when holding someone in great esteem, or if they're at a considerably higher social status than you. Needless to say, God is definitely considered to be higher in the social standings than most. :P  
**Kumo:** Short for Kumogakure, "Village Hidden in the Cloud". The Ninja village of Lightning Country.  
**Nuke-nin:** Missing-nin. The 'nin' part is written with the same kanji (Japanese character) as the one in 'Ninja' but the word 'nin' can also mean 'person' using a different kanji.

**Author's Note:** I'm sorry about making you wait so long. This is literally my fourth rewrite of this chapter. Even now I'm not particularly happy with how this went, but I can't for the life of me, think of a better way to write this. I didn't want you guys to wait any longer for me to come up with yet another rewrite of awfulness.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. And once again thanks everyone for all your support. Until next time.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ripple**

_Chapter 4_

Careful to remain silent and avoid too much eye contact, they made their way through their neighbourhood. Minato could sense the impending explosion that was about to spout forth from Kushina's mouth and was determined to get into the privacy of their house before she let loose. She kept looking daggers at him which had most people scrambling to the opposite side of the road, hoping to avoid being caught in the crossfire. Kushina's temper was infamous.

Finally turning off the footpath and into their driveway, Minato moved quickly to the front door, fluidly unlocking the door and standing aside to let Kushina in, before gently closing said door and locking it. Feeling as though he'd signed his own death warrant, he walked timidly into the lounge room.

There was a flash of movement and Minato found himself pinned to the wall. Kushina was livid, her red hair like a halo of flames, her face oddly pale in contrast.

"_Explain."_

Minato didn't think he'd heard a single word pronounced as venomously as that before. He flinched slightly as her eyes flashed dangerously and her grip tightened on the front of his uniform.

"He wasn't able to answer," he said calmly, in an effort to console her. He didn't feel calm on the inside though. She continued to glare at him, so he took it as an invitation to continue.

"He was in more shock than we were. Continuing to question him at that point would be useless."

Kushina's eyes narrowed further before she released her hold on him with a huff, and stormed over to the couch, throwing herself onto it unceremoniously.

Minato sighed and approached her from behind, leaning over her and draping his arms over her shoulders, nestling his head in her neck. She stiffened at the contact before relaxing slightly, letting out a sigh of her own.

"We learnt a few things," Minato murmured quietly to her.

"Like what?" she muttered bitterly.

"Well, when I spoke to him a couple of days ago, he thought he was in a Genjutsu, right?"

"Hmm. And?"

"He claims to have seen this 'Mangekyou Sharingan', which has unbreakable Genjutsu capabilities, so that explains why he thought so, and may still believe it too."

Kushina nodded thoughtfully at this. Minato almost sighed in relief aloud as she relaxed a little more into his embrace.

"He also knows about Kakashi's Sharingan eye, which is a bit of a surprise," Minato admitted somewhat apprehensively. The young Jounin had rarely, if ever, used his Sharingan on missions after the war, due to the strain it placed on his chakra reserves. Instead, he preferred to keep it covered, as he was unable to deactivate it. It worried him that word could have spread so far already about his previous student's unique position, let alone enough to earn him a nickname of 'Copy Ninja'. He'd have to confront him about it later.

"He's probably just as confused right now as we are," Minato said quietly. "We need to be patient, and give him some time to think things through."

--

Confused didn't even begin to cover what Naruto was feeling at that point. He barely adsorbed the fact that the pair had left the room, lost to the emotions boiling inside him. One word penetrated the maelstrom, bringing all other thoughts to a standstill.

Family.

It was something he'd always craved; the unconditional acknowledgement that he'd never had; the acknowledgement he'd had to work so hard to get for his entire life.

But there was no way in hell that it could even be remotely possible. He was an orphan; a child whose parents had died in the Kyuubi attack. The one chosen by the Yondaime to be the vessel he sealed the damned fox in, in exchange for his life.

Of course, he'd wondered who his parents were, but he'd learned at a young age that it wasn't wise to ask too many questions. The Sandaime had been the one to tell him of his parents' fate when he was young, and he'd been content with that. He felt strange even thinking about it.

But then, if this was a Genjutsu, then what did they want. Did they wish to torture him by giving him the one secret thing that he'd always wanted, and then rip them away again?

'_Still stuck on that idea, brat?' _a guttural voice asked him, amusement evident in the tone.

Naruto jumped a little, before scowling and closing his eyes on the world, opening himself to his mindscape instead.

'_Shut up furball,' _Naruto responded fiercely, his expression darkening as the Kitsune's smirk turned into a sinister smile.

'_Why?' _he asked, his teeth seeming to glint with pearly white glee. _'Do you not wish to hear how you got into your current predicament.'_

'_Not from _you _I don't,' _the blonde said vehemently.

'_Ah, too bad then,' _Kyuubi said, swishing his tails casually. _'Well, I guess you don't want to know that you're not trapped in a Genjutsu then…'_

'_No, I d- wait, what do you mean?'_

'_Exactly what I said,' _he said impatiently. _'This is no illusion. It's all real.'_

"WHAT?!"

The last bit was shouted aloud, causing the door to burst open as the two ANBU there, as well as the one outside his window all rushed into his room. They all had their hands on their Tachi, loose in their sheaths, ready to be drawn at the slightest threat.

'_Oh, so that got your attention, not to mention theirs as well.'_

Naruto's eyed them nervously, before throwing his hand behind his head and laughing awkwardly.

"Ah, sorry?" he muttered, as their demeanour changed to one of annoyance. He continued to grin apologetically until they returned to their posts. His expression changed instantly to one of annoyance as the demon inside continued to laugh at him.

'_What do you mean this isn't a Genjutsu,' _he asked, aggravated. _'I got hit by Orange-face's Mangekyou, didn't I?'_

'_The Mangekyou Sharingan doesn't only cast Genjutsus, does it?' _the fox sneered at him. _'That Orange-face, as you call him, stuffed up.'_

'_What do you mean?'_

'_He attempted to make me perform a Reverse _Kuchiyose_ variant of his making with that eye of his, but failed miserably.'_

'_You _know_ him?' _Naruto asked in disbelief.

'_Somewhat,' _Kyuubi said evasively.

'_And what do you mean by variant?' _he asked suspiciously.

'_All these useless questions,' _the fox muttered to himself, annoyed_._

'_So,' _Naruto continued. _'If this is all real, then how am I here?'_

'_Why not try using that poor excuse of a brain of yours and come up with the answer for yourself,' _the demon said, his irritation reaching its peak. And with a swish of his many tails and a malevolent red-eyed glare, he retreated into the depths of his cage, leaving Naruto alone to stew in his own thoughts.

--

Minato once again found himself sitting in his office at Hokage tower. Despite Kushina's grudging agreement to leave Naruto alone until his release from the hospital, Minato had been unable to endure her suffocatingly dark mood, and had retreated to the office under the pretence of finishing his duties.

Dozens of mission reports lay strewn across the table, the majority of them D-ranked missions. Since the Alliance Treaty had been signed eight months ago, the need for A and even B-ranked missions had declined, instead, making way for the minor C and D-ranked missions. Even some Jounin had been forced to take on the lower ranked missions in order to sustain their incomes. So naturally, the mission reports were full of thinly hidden complaints from said ninja, who felt that their talents were being wasted.

'_And I can't blame them,' _he thought morosely to himself. _'I'd be frustrated if it was me too.'_

He let out a sigh, and dropped his head to the desk jadedly, his shoulders drooping.

"Don't look so defeated," a gravelly voice said from his right. "It's not becoming."

Minato sat bolt upright, looking over to the source of the voice. Crouched on the window sill was an older man about to hit his forties, his hair unnaturally long and white, a Hitai-ate with the Kanji for oil adorning his forehead.

The Yondaime let out a sigh, and slouched back into his chair.

"You wouldn't be saying that if you knew what sort of week I've had," he said gloomily. "Speaking of which, where were _you _sensei?"

"Ah, you know, researching," Jiraiya said nonchalantly, hoping down from the window sill into the office.

"Researching for what?" Minato asked suspiciously.

"For my new, sexed up novel of course," he said proudly. "I've even come up with a title already; _Icha Icha Paradise. _I think I'll make it into a series."

"So you've been perving on women again?" Minato said with a cocked eyebrow. He remembered how it'd been when he was a Genin. At times, Jiraiya wouldn't show up to training at all, instead, spending his time peeking through the wall of the female onsen.

"Research, my boy," he said walking over and patting him affectionately on the shoulder. "Research. It's very important to my budding story's success."

"You _do_ know what'll happen if you get caught, right?" Minato said with a sigh.

"Well, that's not going to happen, is it?" he replied, with what Jiraiya seemed to think was a winning smile plastered on his face as he stretched and leaned back on the wall casually.

"Just be glad Tsunade isn't in the village," Minato said warningly. "She'd beat the crap out of you for it."

That winning smile faded into a look of irritation and slight embarrassment. He ran his hand over his chest, where, presumably, Tsunade had done her worst damage back when 'that incident' had occurred, before folding his arms in a huff.

The young Hokage chuckled quietly, flashing him a cheeky grin, receiving a scowl in return. It was entirely too easy to tease his old sensei.

"So," Jiraiya said, his entire demeanour becoming more serious. "What sort of week _have_ you had?"

Minato's mirth dissipated, a heavy feeling descending on him in its wake. He looked at his sensei seriously as he reflected on the events of the past few days. Watching carefully, looking for any subtle changes in expression, he related all that had happened. Jiraiya's face remained impassive throughout his account, his eyes the only real indicators of the thoughts and emotions currently passing through his mind.

"So," Minato said cautiously at the end of his account. "What do you think?"

Jiraiya grunted, before shifting off the wall to stand upright.

"You believe the boy is telling the truth?"

"Yes, for the most part," he responded. "Although I know he's hiding something."

"I think we need to question him further," Jiraiya said seriously.

"Agreed."

"Obviously, it would be unwise to do so now," Jiraiya mused. "If his healing ability is as astounding as you describe, we may be able to get some answers from him within the next couple of weeks."

"His wound on his stomach is troubling," Minato added evenly. "Going by his description, it seems as if that particular injury won't be healing due to his ability. It also seems as though the toxin may be unique, so I doubt the hospital has an antidote at hand."

There was a pause.

"Tsunade…?" Minato asked, trailing off expectantly.

"Haven't seen her lately," Jiraiya said with a sigh. "Last I heard, her and her new apprentice were seen in a small village near the border of Tea Country. I doubt she'd come, even if it was me or you who asked."

"Hmm, guess I'll have to ask Rin to take a look into it."

"Could she do it?" Jiraiya asked critically.

"I believe so," Minato said, with a hint of pride. "She did receive a bit of rudimentary training in toxin and poisons identification from Tsunade, and she's pretty resourceful."

Jiraiya just nodded in response, satisfied with his ex-student's confidence.

"Well," he said, walking casually over to the window. "Let me know the usual way when the boy's going to be released, and we'll talk again. I'll be around."

"Around _where_ exactly?" the blonde asked dubiously.

"Need you ask?" Jiraiya asked brazenly, a wide lecherous grin spreading across his face.

Minato rolled his eyes as the older man jumped out the window, swearing he heard him giggle as he disappeared from sight.

**Translation Notes:**

**Tachi: **A Japanese sword. Slightly longer and more curved than a Katana. Standard ANBU issue I believe (credit to Chioky for helping me identify it).  
**Kuchiyose: **Short for _Kuchiyose no Jutsu _or Summoning Technique, which is a blood contract undertaken by some shinobi with animals of varied types, allowing them to, as the name suggests, summon those animals to them. Most of the animals (if not all) have the ability to talk, as well as ninja like skills, and their sizes can vary from the average to bigger than a house. A Reverse Kuchiyose is the opposite, in which the ninja is summoned by the animal instead.  
**Icha Icha Paradise: **Also known as _Come Come Paradise, _it's the orange erotic novel that Kakashi is seen reading in the beginning of the series which is authored by Jiraiya. The other 2 books are _Icha Icha Violence _(Red) and _Icha Icha Tactics _(Green)_._**  
Onsen: **Hot springs bath.

**Author Notes: **Yes, another chapter well overdue. No real excuses, I just got a bit distracted by Cosplay, books and videogames. That and work has given me a lot of graveyard shifts lately, which is really draining. I'm only a casual, but I've been working full time hours for the past couple of weeks and I've only had time for work and sleep. So, uh, yeah… sorry everyone! D:

This chapter was a lot harder to get out than I thought it would be and by no means as long as I would like it to be either. My reasoning is that there's something I don't really want to introduce until the next chapter, and it was just too convenient to cut it off where I did. Yes, I am evil! XD

I know I'm probably sounding like a broken record, but thanks so much for your continued support and reviews. -hugs- I really appreciate it, and I still find myself staggered by the amount of people actually reading this. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside to realise that so many people are enjoying this story. So until next time everyone! :D


	5. Chapter 5

**Ripple**

_Chapter 5_

Minato marched through a familiar training ground on the outskirts of the village with a heavy heart, looking in the one place his white-haired ex-student was bound to be. Sure enough, as he rounded the copse of trees, the young Jounin came into view standing before the memorial stone that Obito's name was carved into.

"Kakashi," he called out, despite knowing that the boy had probably noticed his approach sometime ago.

"Minato-sensei," the younger boy replied, tearing his gaze away from the obsidian rock to look him in the face. His expression was one of bored expectation, although his eyes gave away the turmoil that he was undoubtedly feeling inside.

"I have a favour to ask you," the blonde man said, coming to a halt before him.

"Shoot," he said, his eyes forming a smile to match the one hidden behind his mask. Minato, thrown a bit by his manner, took a second to respond. Kakashi's personality had practically done a one-eighty since the death of his team mate. Sometimes the contrasts in behaviours were a little startling to say the least.

"I have a mission for both you and Rin that I want you to accept," the Yondaime said, handing over a scroll. "This details what you should expect."

Kakashi opened the document and scanned the contents, his brow furrowing slightly the further he went.

"This doesn't seem to warrant the need for a Jounin," he stated slightly accusingly. Minato, catching on quickly to Kakashi's source of frustration, decided to curb it quickly.

"It has nothing to do with what you're thinking," he said reassuringly.

"And what would that be?" he asked mockingly.

"Something like me thinking that you're not in the right state of mind and are unfit to carry out higher ranked missions, perhaps?"

The scowl and slight shift in his stance was confirmation enough.

"You needn't worry," Minato said amusedly. "This mission will be more than acceptable I think you'll find."

"It's Rin sort of thing, not mine," Kakashi said pointedly. "Why do you want me on this mission? It doesn't even seem to be C ranked."

"Ah, that's where you're wrong," the young Hokage said seriously. "This mission has an A rank."

Kakashi's head snapped up, his one visible eye widening slightly.

"A rank?" he repeated astonished.

"The subject is an S class unknown," Minato said quietly. "We have yet to discover his allegiances or his purpose here in Konoha. At this stage, not even the council are aware of his presence here in the village."

"Why all the secrecy?"

"It's to do with the circumstances of his arrival, among other things."

"I see," he replied thoughtfully.

Minato sighed inwardly in relief. He was afraid of being questioned further about it, but it seemed as though Kakashi was going to let him off easily for now.

"So, you want me to make sure that Rin can complete her mission unharmed?" the young Jounin asked pointedly.

"Yes, as well as taking note of the subject's reactions in general."

"Sure," he shrugged. "No problem."

The white-haired boy rolled up the scroll, and put it his back pouch before moving past his former sensei.

"Hey Kakashi, one last thing," Minato said.

"Yeah?" Kakashi asked, coming to a halt and looking over his shoulder.

"What's this I hear about you being 'The Copy Ninja'?"

"Copy Ninja?" he asked perplexed. "Where'd you hear that?"

"Oh, just around," Minato said, waving the question off.

"Well, I've never used it."

"Ah, okay then."

"Has a nice ring to it though, doesn't it?" he added thoughtfully. And with that final note, he made a hand sign before disappearing in a puff of smoke, leaving a thoroughly confused Hokage in his wake.

---

Naruto continued to stare at the ceiling of his hospital room in a daze. He had spent the entire night awake, unable to relax enough to sleep, not with the new information that he had been given.

"Not a Genjutsu," he muttered for what must have been the hundredth time.

He'd been clinging to that idea since his return to consciousness, hoping beyond all hope that it was so. The alternative wasn't even worth considering, but he could see no alternative now.

"It's all real?" he whispered in horrified awe.

A low rumbling seemed to echo in the back of his mind. He scowled, recognising the mocking laughter for what it was.

'_Stupid bloody fox,' _he thought bitterly to himself.

He sat up slowly, ignoring the stabbing pain from his abdomen, now used to its presence and got up out of bed. He walked slowly to the window, flicking the latch aside and throwing it open smoothly. The cool morning breeze hit his face, and he let out a sigh as the air flowed past him into the stuffy room.

He noticed the ANBU operative stiffen in his peripheral vision. It looked like it was Bear-face's shift again, the hulking figure and mask unmistakable. He shifted almost imperceptibly towards Naruto, apparently not too trusting since their last encounter.

"Don't worry," he muttered sourly. "I'm not going to try and escape."

Bear-face seemed to stare at him before nodding his head slightly. He did not, however, relax his stance or retreat, obviously not quite believing the blonde teenager's words.

"So," he said casually. "What's the date today?"

"Huh?" Bear-face responded oh so eloquently.

Naruto sighed impatiently.

"I've been out of it for a couple of days at least, so I was wondering what the date was."

"It's the 27th of June," he replied quietly.

"And the year?" Naruto asked as casually as he could.

The ANBU stared at him.

"What? Don't you know it," Naruto asked, grinning impishly at him.

"It's the 389th Year of the Ninja," he replied stiffly, turning his head away.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Naruto said, widening his grin even further. "Guess you're not as dumb as you look."

And with that he slammed the window in the furious ANBU's face.

Not bothering to close the curtain, Naruto hobbled into the bathroom attached to his room, twisting the lock closed with an audible click, before turning and leaning heavily against the door, feeling the grin slide off his face like mud. He grimaced, a sour taste filling his mouth as he fought to keep down the bile rising in his throat.

'_Sixteen years?' _he thought, slightly panicked.

He'd dealt with many things in his short life, but this was beyond anything he'd ever experienced before.

'_Well, almost anything,' _he amended to himself.

Still, being cooped up in this hospital had begun to grate on his nerves. He felt trapped and alienated on a scale he'd never experienced in his life. Now, more than ever before, he felt alone. Going from a present from which he'd worked so hard to achieve acknowledgement from his peers and elders, to the past where he didn't even exist yet. The need to escape, to find somewhere private to sort things out in his mind, had finally grown to a peak.

'_But how do I get out of here?'_

Needless to say, it wasn't like he could waltz out through the front door, and with his current injury, he doubted he'd be able to move quickly enough to avoid a confrontation if he tried to force his way out. No, this situation called for a more carefully thought out plan.

He started throwing ideas around. The first idea that popped into his head involved the use of his _Rasengan_ to smash through the wall and to freedom. He grimaced at that thought.

'_Yeah, real subtle Naruto,' _he thought scathingly to himself, instantly disregarding it.

No, what he needed was a diversion; one big enough to draw attention away from him so that he could escape in the confusion that followed. He shifted his position, crossing his legs and resting his head on his right hand, a crease forming between his eyebrows as he thought. His mind remained blank before the answer came to him in a flash. He stood up and approached the back of the room, before turning to face the door.

"_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," _he muttered,forming his fingers into a familiar cross symbol. A single clone popped into existence with the usual cloud of smoke.

Moving determinedly, the clone walked out of the bathroom, leaving the door slightly ajar. He continued across the room, before smoothly opening the door to the hallway and attempting to make a break for it. The two ANBU reacted instantaneously, moving to restrain him. Anticipating this, the clone ducked under the grasping hand from the ANBU on the right, placing his hand on the ground and pivoting on it, swinging his legs in a wide, smooth, sweeping motion. The left ANBU jumped over his legs, whilst the right one moved backwards to avoid them.

Smirking at the left one's mistake, the clone planted both feet on the ground, before springing forward, delivering a nasty uppercut to his chin as he descended. A nasty crack echoed down the hall, the man's head whipping backwards from the impact, before he collided with the wall, slumping against it heavily.

The noise, as expected, had attracted the attention of the ANBU outside. Without hesitation he threw open the window and streaked across the room to attack from behind. The clone, sensing his approach, made a dash towards the ANBU on the right, knocking her to the ground by grasping her shoulders and using the forward momentum to flip over to land in a crouch, facing the direction he'd come from and temporarily stunning her in the process.

Meanwhile, the real Naruto peaked through the gap of the door waiting anxiously. Bear-face was still standing in the doorway to the hall, his stance cautious, making it impossible for him to make a move.

The clone realised this too. He took a couple of steps backward, hoping to lure the senior ninja forward, letting a sardonic smile spread on his face. Bear-face stiffened slightly at this, in what the clone assumed was annoyance.

"I thought you said you weren't going to try and escape," he muttered accusingly.

"And you actually believed me?" the clone asked incredulously. "I take back what I said earlier. You really _are _as stupid as you look."

The goading seemed to have worked somewhat, causing the hulking figure to step forward threateningly, putting him out of the line of sight for the room.

Seeing this, the real Naruto opened the bathroom door slowly, praying silently that the joints didn't squeak. When the gap was large enough to allow him to pass through, he stopped and waited for the battle to resume. Hearing a satisfying grunt as the wind was undoubtedly knocked out of the hulking ninja, he moved. As stealthily as he could, Naruto slipped through the bathroom door and, without a backwards glance, out the window.

---

"YOU WHAT?!"

The three ANBU cringed visibly under the furious blonde Hokage's stare.

"Perhaps we worded that wrongly," the female ANBU said nervously. "We underestimated his abilities. His escape was the result."

"And how, pray tell, did he get past the three of you?"

"We weren't aware he could use the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_," Bear-face said in a subdued voice.

"_Kage Bunshin_?" the Yondaime asked disbelievingly.

"He used it as a diversion, keeping us occupied while he escaped through the window," the male ANBU said tonelessly. "When the clone was dispelled, we were unable to locate the boy's trail."

Minato sighed, the anger subsiding somewhat.

"We've got to act swiftly on this," he said seriously. "We don't know what sort of danger the boy may pose to us. We need to get him back, and quickly. I don't want the council to know we have a potential threat to security roaming about in the village, is that understood?"

"Yes sir," the three said.

"I want you to comb the village for any sign of him," he said seriously. "Each of you will search a third. While you do that, I'll check the training grounds."

"So you believe he's still here?" the female asked.

"Yes," he replied seriously. He stood up and walked around his desk, to stand in front of the three before him. "But even if he's not, his injury's severity would be enough slow him down significantly."

The ANBU all nodded in agreement, and with that final note, they all scattered.

---

Naruto leaned against the familiar wooden post, breathing heavily. The distance between training grounds and the hospital wasn't that great, but the effort of getting to the place while remaining hidden had worn him out.

He pulled up the blue shirt he'd 'borrowed' from a clothes line and looked at the bandages covering his stomach, grimacing as he noticed the red blotches expanding slowly across the white.

"Perfect," he muttered darkly. "As if I don't have enough to worry about."

He sighed, sliding down the post to sit on the ground. He closed his eyes, listening to the birds and the slight rustling of the trees in the gentle breeze, relaxing slightly. True, he wanted time to think about his predicament, but he found it so much more satisfying to put it to the back of his mind in favour of relishing his freedom from the hospital. Hospitals were supposed to be places of healing, but he always found them to be more than counterproductive in that regard.

He was dozing when a girl's voice pierced through his stupor, startling him.

"I got your message."

His eyes snapped open in alarm, and he glanced about wildly. Not seeing anyone in the immediate vicinity, he cast his gaze further around the field, searching for the source, his heart racing.

"Hn," was the reply. A boy's voice.

Naruto glanced over his shoulder to his left, his eyes focusing on the foliage blocking his view to what he knew was the memorial stone, the top half of the flagpole the only thing visible.

"Honestly though," the girl's voice continued exasperatedly. "You go to the effort of sending a messenger bird? Wouldn't it have been easier to come and tell me in person?"

There was the slight shuffling of fabric, followed by a defeated sigh from the girl.

"So, what did you want to tell me?"

"We've got a mission," the voice said seriously. "Details are in the scroll."

There was about a minute's silence while the girl apparently read the document. A minute in which Naruto spent tense and barely breathing.

"That's weird," she said slowly. "I could do this alone, so why-"

"Apparently the patient could be dangerous," the boy said monotonously. "Sensei thinks its best that I come along and make sure the guy doesn't try anything."

"Well, I suppose that makes sense then," she said coolly. "Shall we get going then?"

Naruto felt his heart miss a beat.

'Patient' meant the hospital was more than likely their destination. He'd just come from the hospital, so that meant that the pair would be crossing the training grounds, putting him directly in their path. If he tried to move now, he'd be discovered, but if he stayed here, he'd also be discovered. It was a no-win situation.

'_Why can't I catch a break these days?'_ he thought bitterly to himself.

Coming quickly to the conclusion that it'd be better for him to be ready to escape if need be, he struggled to his feet, wincing as he did so, his vision swimming.

It was just as the girl came into view that Naruto felt the hair rise on the back of his neck, his danger sense screaming at him. Tensing, he flicked his eyes around the field looking for the source.

"So here you are," said a cold voice from his right.

Naruto jumped violently, whipping his head around to come face to face with a very unimpressed Yondaime Hokage.

They both stared at each other for a second, before Naruto felt his stomach plummet.

"Ah crap."

---

**Information note:**

**389****th**** Year of the Ninja:** It's something I made up, as the Naruto-verse doesn't have a year system that I know of, and I think it'd be better to have something universal to the entire ninja world rather than 'X years since the formation of Y Village' or something to that effect. I don't remember how long ago, or even if it was stated when the 'Father of all Ninja' first made an appearance (referring to the guy with the Rinengan who isn't any of the Pein's, and who was said to have invented Ninjutsu), but I figured since there were well established ninja clans running around 60 years prior to the Kyuubi attack, that the Art of the Ninja would be at least a couple of centuries older, so I've based it very loosely off of that.

**Translation notes:**

**Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:** _Shadow Clone Technique_. Naruto's signature move and an A-class Kinjutsu (forbidden technique). Allows the user to make a solid clone of themselves. Also any experience the clone has becomes the experience of the user when the clone is dispelled.

**Author's Note: **Well hello again everyone. Been a while since my last update, hasn't it? -_sweatdrops- _God this was hard to get out. Where's my muse gone? Sorry if it's a little disjointed. Oh well…

I have to say I'm once again, completely astounded by the amount of support I'm receiving from you guys. Like, really, you have no idea how absolutely wonderful it feels to receive all your reviews and alerts. So once again, thank you so much! :D

Hmm, something else too. Thought I might as well plug a couple of my favourite Naruto time travel fics.

"Time and Again" by KyLewin is absolutely amazing. Its length is really epic (400 000+ words), and the plot is really awesome. It's a little slow to start off with, but once you get into it, you'll be hooked. I highly recommend giving it a read, even if it does take a week to get through it all. Best of all, Ky updates fortnightly with 10 000 word chapters, so no super long delays (unlike a certain authoress… _-shiftylook-_).

"Vis-à-vis" & "Door Number Two" by Reaper Nanashi. Vis-à-vis is the 'remix' of DNT which has been discontinued, but the original is definitely worth the read anyway. I love the story for this. The characterisation is pretty good, and the plot is incredible. My story does not compare.

"Parallels" by QuestofDreams and Lazuli. Okay, yes, it's a yaoi, and a pretty graphic one at that, and yeah, it's more of an AU than a TT, but the plot is fantastic and I love it to bits for it. Equal parts of angst, drama and romance. What more could you ask for?

Well, that it from me. Until next time everyone~


	6. Chapter 6

**Ripple**

_Chapter 6_

"Ah crap," Naruto said nervously, taking an unconscious step backwards. The killer intent flowing out of the man before him was almost unbearable. A bead of sweat made its way down his left temple as he felt his mouth go dry.

"Biggest understatement of the year," the blonde man muttered darkly, glaring at him. "Want to tell me _why _you're here and not in your hospital room?"

"Um, fresh air?" he mumbled hopefully.

The Yondaime stiffened angrily, his glare intensifying, causing Naruto to cringe visibly.

"Do you realise what sort of position you've put yourself in," he asked in a dangerous whisper. "How do you think this looks to me?"

He tried to shrug nonchalantly in response, not succeeding in the slightest.

"You stumble into a training field looking like someone's put you in a blender. You have no verifiable identification, and while your injured, you take down 3 of my best ANBU with a Kinjutsu almost exclusive to this village, and disappear from your hospital room to Kami knows where."

Naruto swallowed nervously. The Yondaime leaned forwards.

"You look like an incompetent spy at best, or a deadly assassin caught breaking the recently signed international treaty at worst," he breathed, his voice barely audible.

"Uh, sensei?"

Naruto and Minato's heads both snapped up startled as they whipped their heads to the source. Standing at the end of the cluster of foliage was the girl who had been talking before, and next to her was-

'_No way, Kakashi-sensei?'_ Naruto thought, his eyes widening in shock. The boy's appearance had apparently changed little over the years. He wore a navy blue pants and shirt with broad white stripes running vertically down both sleaves, his mask attached seamlessly to the shirt. Bandages wound their way around his mid calves down into his ninja sandals and around his right thigh, a shuriken holster strapped on his side. White leather straps clipped together across his chest in the shape of an X, the black handle of a Wakizashi just barely visible over his right shoulder. On his hands he wore navy fingerless gauntlets with three armoured plates on the forearms, and one on the back of his hands. His headband was covering his left eye as usual, a tuft of silver hair sticking out above his nose. His visible eye was at half mast, a look of slight interest sparking in its depths.

"You might want to save the lecture for later, he's bleeding pretty heavily," the white haired boy said casually.

It was a moment before he realised that the angry Hokage before him had pulled up his shirt to inspect his stomach. There was a gasp of surprise from the girl and a muttered curse from the blonde man, his expression now one of concern, as they took in the completely blood-soaked bandages leaking viscous red liquid in some places. A sudden wave of dizziness that had nothing to do with nerves assaulted Naruto, causing him to sway slightly. The Yondaime grabbed his upper arm, holding him steady.

"Lay him down sensei," the girl said firmly, moving over to his side quickly. "I'll see if I can stem some of the blood flow before we take him to the hospital."

Naruto groaned, ignoring the reproachful glance the Yondaime threw him as he lowered him gently onto the grass. _'All that work for nothing.'_

A soft green light enveloped the girl's hands as she lowered them above his stomach.

"I'm Rin by the way," she said, smiling politely at him. "You've obviously met my sensei before, right?"

"Uh, yeah," Naruto muttered awkwardly, avoiding the older blonde's gaze.

"That's my teammate over there, Hatake Kakashi," she said, flicking her head towards the spiky haired boy.

"And you would be Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" Kakashi asked, his expression indifferent under his mask.

"Yeah. How'd you know?" he asked cautiously.

"You match the description in that scroll," the boy said calmly, gesturing to the document currently on the ground next to Rin. "You're the subject of our next assignment."

"I'm _what?!_" Naruto asked, his nervousness and annoyance clashing together painfully. He threw a glare at the Hokage, receiving one of equal power in return.

"What Kakashi means to say is that I'm in charge of your recovery process at the hospital starting today," Rin said placating.

Naruto grunted at this, not really reassured.

"What we need to do," she continued, with a small smile. "Is stabilise you so that we can get you back to the hospital."

Naruto groaned again.

'_I _really _don't want to go back there,'_ He thought glumly to himself._ 'I'd make a break for it if I didn't know they'd get me before I went two steps… My life really sucks right now.'_

"Once there, I'll commence the testing for the toxin that's keeping your wound from healing, and attempt to counteract it."

"Do you think you can do it Rin?" Minato asked quietly.

She looked at him seriously before breaking out into a smile.

"I've already determined a couple of the key components just from examining him right now," she said confidently. "I'm sure, with further testing, I'll be able to have an antidote ready within the next day or so."

---

Naruto glowered at the ANBU guards visible through the hospital window. There were now two of them there, thanks to the little stunt he'd pulled earlier. He'd been 'escorted' back to the hospital by the Yondaime, who had then drawn the two younger ninja out into the hallway to no doubt talk to them about preventing any further attempts of escape on his part. It was about three minutes later that the new ANBU had appeared at his window, which put him in an even fouler mood than what he'd been in to begin with. Couple that with his blood loss and you had one tired and cranky blonde-haired ninja.

A soft knock echoed across the room as the girl from earlier walked in. She appeared to hesitate slightly when she saw his expression before directing her attention to the chart on the end of his bed. The door closed firmly, causing Naruto to redirect his gaze on the offender.

Kakashi stood at the entrance to the room, his expression a mixture of boredom and annoyance, his stance relaxed. Naruto found himself staring at this younger version of his sensei. Apart from the clothes and the obvious age difference, the boy seemed the same as his present time counterpart. Right down to the way he was leaning casually on the door.

"So, uh, what's with the mask?" he found himself asking.

"Huh?" Kakashi answered oh so eloquently, turning his head to look at him, his face showing his trademark half surprised look.

"Your mask," Naruto repeated, ignoring his expression. "Why do you wear it?"

Rin looked up from the chart to watch the exchange curiously.

"Well, why not?" Kakashi replied indifferently.

Naruto just shrugged at him, wincing as his ribs twinged painfully. Rin rolled her eyes before returning back to the chart.

An awkward silence filled the room, as he continued to stare at the silver-haired boy at the door, who had gone back to staring into space.

"Right," Rin said, putting the chart back in its holder and walking over to the sink, washing her hands thoroughly. "I'm going to perform a few tests on you and take a couple of samples for examination, okay?"

"Not like I've got much choice, right?" Naruto noted sarcastically.

Her expression seemed to darken somewhat as she put on a pair of latex gloves, approaching him slowly, causing him to swallow nervously. Sakura used to get that look on her face whenever something or someone annoyed her, that someone usually being him.

"Nope, no choice whatsoever," she said, grinning slightly.

She proceeded to give him a check up, measuring all his vitals, testing his reflexes, examining pupil dilation and contractions, checking his tongue and throat, as well as his current injuries. She let out a gasp as she unwound the bandages on his stomach, the expression on her face one of pity and horror.

"Before I replace these, I need to take a sample from the wound," she said firmly, her expression showing that there'd be no debating the matter.

"Okay then."

"Bear with me," she said, carefully extracting a couple of sterilised swabs from her pouch. She proceeded to carefully scrap the tips along the edge and the centre of the wound respectively, causing Naruto to wince, hissing slightly. She smiled apologetically as she placed the now blood soaked cotton into test tubes and screwing the lids on, labelling each carefully. She returned them to into her pouch before cleaning the wound and winding on fresh dressing carefully. She threw out the now bloodied gloves before proceeding to wash her hands again and replace them with a fresh pair.

"I also need to take a sample of your saliva," she said, reaching into her pouch again.

"What? Do you want me to spit into a cup or something?" Naruto asked, completely baffled.

He heard a snort and turned his gaze sharply towards the boy in the corner, who he could have sworn had just muttered something under his breath. Rin giggled at him before pulling out another sterilised swab.

"Not necessary," she said, grinning at him. "I just need to rub this on the inside of you cheek and we should be fine. Now open wide."

He scowled at her before obliging.

"See," she said, smiling at him as she put the swab in another glass tube. "That wasn't hard was it?"

His scowl deepened.

"Just one more test," she said, reaching once more into that pouch before pulling out a plastic bag, three tubes, a packet of cotton balls, a bottle of liquid and a strip of material. "Kakashi, can you grab me a pillow from the cupboard over there please."

"Where do you want it?" he asked tersely.

"Naruto, lift your left arm up," she ordered. "Kakashi-"

"Right."

Naruto lifted it and Kakashi slid the pillow next to him. He placed his arm on the pillow as Kakashi retreated back across the room while Rin unscrewed the cap of the bottle, grabbing a few cotton balls and upending the bottle onto them, soaking them in the liquid. She then proceeded to swab his arm around the crook of his elbow and down his forearm.

"What are you doing?" Naruto asked curiously.

"I'm sterilising your arm so that I can do a blood test," she said as she disposed of the swabs, screwing the lid back on the bottle.

"Can't you just use the blood from before?" he asked.

"Nope," she said, grabbing the tourniquet and tying it off firmly above his elbow. "Make a fist."

"Why not?" he probed, doing as she asked.

"Well," she said, opening the packet around the needle and grabbing one of the tubes. "The blood down there has been exposed to the air, as well as germs and bacteria, not to mention the toxin that's stopping your wound from healing."

She attached the tube to the syringe before examining his arm, and carefully inserting it. As soon as the blood began to fill the tube, she removed the tourniquet.

"Relax your hand," she ordered.

"But won't that stuff be in my blood anyway? I mean, what's the point of getting a blood test if you've already got a sample of the toxin." he asked as he did what he was told.

"Well I've got to make sure that I've got the right toxin and not some weird bacterial infection, don't I?" Rin said amusedly. She carefully slid the first tube out, carefully inverting it a few times before grabbing an empty tube and sliding it into place and allowing it to fill. "That and I have to check to see if you're in perfect health."

Naruto snorted.

"Hey, a Medical Ninja can't go neglecting her duties to her patients now," she said sternly. "It wouldn't be ethical."

'_She sounds a lot like Sakura-chan and Shizune-no-Nee-chan,' _he thought to himself sadly. _'Hope Sakura-chan's alright.'_

"Right, all done," Rin said gently.

He jerked in surprise, his eyes widening as he took in her sympathetic gaze.

"You okay?" she asked quietly.

"Yeah, fine," he said, looking away, his face heating up a little.

"Right, just hold this down for a couple of minutes," she said, gesturing at the gauze that was now covering his inner elbow.

He nodded, doing as she said while she threw the needle into a yellow container, disposed of the gloves and wrote on the samples before placing them in her pouch with her remaining equipment.

"Well, I'm off to do the tests," she said as she walked across to the door. "I'll be back in a couple of days at the most with a cure for that toxin, so hang in there until then, okay?"

He nodded at her. She nodded once back before turning to leave. Kakashi also nodded once following her out of the room, shutting the door behind him with a definitive click.

---

Minato yawned, finding himself tramping the familiar path home from the twenty-four hour convenience store. Kushina had woken him again, complaining of cravings for mint ice-cream, barbeque sauce and celery.

Together.

Minato shuddered. If it was one thing about being male he was absolutely thankful for, it was the fact he would never have to experience pregnancy for himself. Bad enough that he had to watch from the sidelines, in his opinion.

He walked up the front path, fumbling slightly with the keys as he inserted them in the lock, before making his way inside, flipping the lock on the door and proceeding to the kitchen, dumping the plastic bag on the counter and dropping into a seat at the dining table with a sigh.

"Thanks for getting these Minato," Kushina said fondly, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

"No problem," he said tiredly, watching as she grabbed a bowl from the cupboard.

He leaned down and massaged his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose wearily. So much had happened over the course of the past few days.

He looked up as the bowl was placed softly on the table, to watch Kushina take a seat next to him.

"You okay?" she asked quietly. She grabbed his hand, massaging it gently in small circles.

He smiled, a warm sigh escaping his lips.

"Yeah," he said, looking at her fondly. "Am now."

"That's good," she said, lifting her spoon and stirring the mix she'd made, before heaping a large amount of said concoction into her mouth.

Minato made a face.

"What?"

"I'll go and buy you food for your weird cravings any time, but I refuse to sit here and watch you eat them."

"They're not _that_ bad, are they?" she asked, giggling.

"They are," he said hesitantly.

She giggled some more at him. He glared at her.

"Alright, alright, off you go," she said, rolling her eyes.

He grinned ruefully at her before getting up and retreating to his home office. It was here where he did some of his lower ranked work, as well as a few private projects.

He pulled out a scroll from the top draw as he took a seat behind the little desk.

"Kai," he said, forming the ram hand sign.

A slight puff of smoke emitted from the scroll before he reached down and opened it to review the contents once again.

Kakashi's mess handwriting spread across the scroll, his first progress report handed to him just as he was leaving Hokage Tower. He stared at the report, certain phrases jumping out at him.

_Unusual emotional reactions to tests._

_Apparent lack of knowledge of blood test procedures._

_Prone to mood swings._

_Asked why I wear a mask._

Minato stared a bit at this last piece of information. What that meant, he had no idea, but it seemed important for some reason.

He stared at it a little while longer, before letting out an explosive yawn.

There was a small knock at the doorway. Minato glanced up to look at Kushina's amused expression.

"You should head to bed," she said, smiling softly.

"Yeah, I guess," Minato said, stretching as he stood up. He rolled up the scroll, sealing it with a few hand signs, before placing it back into the top draw.

"You coming too?" he asked as he walked up to her, embracing her warmly.

"Nah," she smiled, leaning against him.

He pouted, earning a laugh from the woman in his arms.

"Don't think I could sleep after all that sugar anyway," she said, smiling. She grabbed his hand and laid it on her stomach. "Besides, this little one is wide awake."

He grinned, leaning forward to give her a small chaste kiss, and then bent down and kissed her stomach.

"Night you two," he said, smiling.

"Night Minato."

---

**Translation Notes:**

**Kinjutsu: **Forbidden Technique.  
**Wakizashi: **A Japanese Sword between 30-60cm, with an average length of 50cm. They are usually worn by samurai together with the Katana. Its use is that of a back up sword, as well as decapitating enemies and committing Seppuku (ritual suicide).  
**-no-Nee-chan: **Nee means 'big sister'. The honorific on the end can be changed to fit the situation. Seeing as Naruto knows Shizune pretty well, he uses 'chan'. The 'no' is a possessive particle (makes things belong to something/someone, e.g. My instead of Me or Sasuke's instead of Sasuke) which isn't necessary in this situation really, but Naruto tends to say it anyway.  
**Kai: **Release. Used to release seals as well as genjutsu.

**Information Note:**

**Ram Hand Sign: **Pronounced as 'hitsuji' in Japanese. Probably the most used hand sign of them all.  
Link to picture of all hand signs (remove spaces): http: //i61. photobucket. com /albums/h52/ jay_roland/seals4dw. jpg

**Author's Note: **Okay, first I owe you guys an apology. This chapter has been too long in coming, and I don't really have too valid of an excuse, except that I faced a bit of a writer's block mixed in with moving house and a bit of a problem with my ISP. I'm sorry ;_;

Must give a shout out to Lizeth, who featured my story over at DA in one of her infamous lists. Thanks so much. ^_^

Also want to explain a bit about my choice in using the Wakizashi. I think it's appropriate, no? I could have chosen a Tantou as well, which is also used for Seppuku as well as a stabbing/slashing weapon, but felt that the traditional length (15-30cm) was a little too short, as I tend to picture Kakashi's little sword at being about 40-45cm long. It's more a personal preference thing than anything else, and a bit of creative license, so I suppose I can get away with it… XD

Starting Uni again at the beginning of March, which I'm really excited about. I really wanted to do this class, which is called 'Japan Pre 1945', which would have focused on the history of the country from the 1600's onwards, including Ninja and Samurai, but couldn't because it clashed with compulsory subjects. -_grumbles- _Might do it next year, even if it's a first year subject. But yeah, the point in mentioning this is just to let you know that I'll try my best to keep on top of this story as well as all my assessment. ^_^

Anyways, thanks for all your support! Until next time~ :D


	7. Chapter 7

**Ripple**

Chapter 7

Days had passed and as far as Naruto was concerned, he had seen and spent enough time in the hospital to last him a life time.

'_And thanks to my escape attempt, I've ruined any chance of getting away in the future.'_

He sighed dejectedly and glanced out the window from his bed. The sun decent behind the tree tops was marked spectacularly by rays of gold, violet lighting the bases of the clouds. The view was, however, slightly marred by the presence of the two ANBU.

The heat of the day was still in the air, the humidity stifling. He'd opened the window early in the morning as the temperature rose well above the comfortable level. The reactions of the two ninja perched on his window sill had been almost comical as they'd tensed, expecting him (almost daring him, in his opinion) to jump out the window and make another escape attempt.

At the time, he'd smirked winningly at them, earning himself an obvious scowl from the smaller of the two, and the complete dismissal of the other.

As the day had worn on, the nurse had come in regularly, escorted of course by an ANBU, bringing him plenty of chilled water. He'd been thankful for this as the heat became almost unbearable as the sun reached its peak.

Now he reached for the glass on his bedside counter, downing the contents in a single mouthful, contemplating his situation. It was his sixth day in this place. Almost an entire week. And yet he was no further in discovering how he'd managed to land himself in this situation. And any of those that may have had answers were either in his original time, not in the village at the moment, or not trustworthy enough to even bother tracking them down for answers.

Landing him right back where he started.

He growled frustratedly, running a hand roughly through his hair, earning himself another invisible glare from the ANBU outside.

He glanced up as there was a knock at the door, watching as the young medical kunoichi wandered in, closely followed by his white-haired teenage sensei.

"Good evening Naruto," she said brightly.

He grinned at her easily, glad for some human interaction that didn't involve unseen glares.

"Heya."

Kakashi glanced at him disinterestedly before wordlessly easing himself into his corner casually.

"So, I'm here let you know that I've come up with an antidote for that wound of yours," she said proudly.

"Wow, already?" Naruto asked, astounded.

She nodded enthusiastically, before sobering up, her expression becoming quite serious.

"It wasn't easy, far from it. Truth be told, it's the most difficult toxin I've had to counteract."

He nodded seriously, deeply impressed. Not many people measured up to Sakura's or Tsunade's abilities, but he'd definitely found a serious contender.

She put down her bag, pulling out a small, sealed bottle, and a syringe.

"It needs to be administered intravenously, as the toxin is in your bloodstream," she said, approaching the sink and washing her hands before pulling on some latex gloves. "What's more is, I don't know if there'll be any side effects."

"Side affects?" Naruto asked nervously.

"There's always the risk that there will be a reaction," she said calmly, approaching him.

Naruto shifted uncomfortably as she prepared the solution.

"Now I'm going to put you on an IV drip and have the antidote administered that way," she said calmly.

"Huh? Why not just inject it directly?" Naruto asked, confused.

"The antidote has to be administered slowly, so this is the only way to do it."

Naruto grumbled incoherently under his breath.

"Here, hold out you arm, palm down," Rin said calmly. Naruto did so, doing his best to ignore her as she went about inserting the catheter into his hand.

Silence filled the room, the orange fire of the late afternoon sun setting the area aglow with its light, the only sounds the slight rustling on Rin's clothes as she went about her work.

"Why?"

Naruto's gaze snapped up to meet Kakashi's demanding one.

"Why what?" he asked cautiously.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm not sure."

The grey haired youth stared at him suspiciously. Naruto looked back at him sadly. What he wouldn't give to have the answer to that question himself.

"There we go," Rin said cheerily, interrupting the awkward moment. "This should stop the bleeding and counteract the toxin. We should start seeing some results in the next fifteen minutes."

"Thanks," he said quietly.

---

Minato sighed in relief. He'd _finally _managed to complete the stack of paperwork that was on his desk.

'_Although, I'd bet something comes in within the next half hour to ruin that,' _he thought wryly.

He swung around on his chair, glancing out the window at the darkening sky lazily. It always gave him a sort of inner peace to gaze at the sunset, watching it fade into twilight, the sky gradually darkening from orange to indigo, and stars blinking into existence as night set in. He breathed in contently and closed his eyes, forgetting his troubles as he settled more comfortably in his chair.

Just as he began to doze, a knock on the door drew him back to the present. He opened his eyes and sighed dejected.

"Murphy's Law… Enter."

The door opened to reveal both Kakashi and Rin.

"Murphy's Law?" Rin asked as the door was closed with a snap.

"Yup," he replied amiably. "Anything that can go wrong _will_ go wrong."

"Rather pessimistic view, wouldn't you say, sensei?"

He shrugged.

"Best to be prepared for anything."

"You'll probably end up eating those words once we show you our report," Kakashi said darkly.

He looked sharply at the grey haired boy before looking expectantly at Rin.

"I take it that you've gotten the boy's test results back," he said seriously.

She nodded, biting her lip hesitantly, before handing over a sealed scroll.

Minato muttered the release command under his breath, opening the scroll smoothly, and scanned the contents. His expression went quickly from one of consternation, to utter disbelief.

"You're sure this is accurate?" he whispered, looking up at the two ninja before him searchingly.

"Yes," Rin said firmly. "I even did the test twice, to make sure."

'_So she didn't believe it either,' _he thought grimly to himself.

"We'd have to run a test with Kushina to be one hundred percent sure, but I really don't think there's any doubt, seeing as you're too young for it to be true otherwise," Rin added. "Still, it seems impossible… I have no way to explain this at all."

Minato seemed to cave in slightly on himself as he sank further into his chair.

"He doesn't know why he's here," Kakashi said quietly. "But I think that we may be able to find an answer if we review the events that led up to his arrival."

The Hokage nodded absently, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought.

'_There's something I'm missing here… something important.'_

"Are you alright sensei?" Rin asked concernedly.

"Fine," he said vaguely. _'If only I could-'_

"OH SHIT!"

Rin jumped and Kakashi tensed as the blonde man almost leapt from his seat.

"What?!" they both asked simultaneously, alarmed.

"How the _hell_ am I supposed to tell this to Kushina?!" he asked, horrified.

Kakashi relaxed slightly, while Rin let out an exasperated sigh and shook her head.

"Well, opening one's mouth and talking is usually the way people go about it," Kakashi said dryly. Minato stared at him, his eyes narrowing slightly as he noticed the subtle twitching behind the boy's mask.

'_Damn kid thinks this is funny,' _he thought wryly to himself as he sank back into his chair.

"Maybe we should call you 'Captain Obvious' instead of 'The Copy Ninja'," Minato replied sarcastically. "Far more befitting I'd say."

Kakashi rolled his eyes.

"Well sensei," Rin interrupted, throwing her teammate a warning look. "I don't think you should beat around the bush with this. You need to tell her straight, and as soon as possible."

Minato nodded his assent to that, all the while feeling slightly queasy.

"What's the boy's current status?" he asked calmly.

"He took well to the antidote," Rin replied. "That abnormal healing of his seems to have kicked in, although going by previous reports; it's not nearly as fast as when it first happened. Regardless, it looks like he'll be fit to leave the hospital in a couple of days and have the stitches removed by the end of the week. A full assessment of his health is located in the report."

"Well then, mission complete. Thanks for all your hard work you two," he said sincerely. "You are both dismissed."

As both turned to leave he looked down at the report, knowing full well that he ought to review and process it now, but also knowing that Kushina would murder him for withholding this sort of information from her any longer than necessary. With a sigh, he re-sealed the scroll, tucking it away in his back pouch, before grabbing his cloak and following his ex-students out the door, shutting it with a firm snap.

---

She stared, the intensity of her gaze practically burning holes through the scroll, table and the floor.

Minato swallowed nervously. He had foregone the 'telling', instead handing his wife the scroll and demanding she read it.

"So, there's really no doubt?" she asked, her sight still set firmly on the report before her.

"No, there isn't," he said, stiffening slightly as she raised her eyes to meet his. They were a mass of emotions. Confusion mainly, with a bit of her usual defiance, and… was that regret?

She stood abruptly, making him jump slightly.

"I'm going to see him!"

"Wha-?"

She brushed past him quickly, making for the front door.

"No- KUSHINA WAIT!"

Minato hurried forwards, grasping her arm firmly.

"Minato, you'll let me go if you know what's good for you!" she said warningly, trying to shrug him off.

"You can't just barge in there," he said sharply.

"I don't see why not," she said harshly.

"Well, it's getting late for starters-"

"The sun's barely set!"

"And visiting hours are sure to be-"

"I don't give a damn about visiting ho-"

"Kushina, he doesn't know we're his parents!"

She turned to face him, her determination wavering as her confusion became evident.

"What do you mean he doesn't know?" she asked accusingly.

"Exactly that. He doesn't know," he said seriously, taking the opportunity to steer the red head back into the kitchen.

"But how can that be?" she asked, sitting down heavily at the table, the fight gone from her. She dropped her head into her hands tiredly, smoothing her hair out of her face. "How can he not know his own parents?"

"I'm not sure," he responded quietly, also taking a seat at the table. "There's so many unknown factors in this. How'd he get here? When did he come from? Why is he here?"

The blonde took a deep breath, before continuing.

"When he arrived in that field, I saw recognition in those eyes, but not the recognition of a son seeing his father. It was the recognition of seeing the Hokage. He addressed me as 'Yondaime', not 'Dad'. What's more, when he woke up, he thought that he was under a genjutsu, and the reasoning behind that was because I was 'dead'. And he when you talked to him, he was surprised that there was another with the name 'Uzumaki'."

"So, we're dead in his time then?" Kushina asked sharply.

"I see no other explanation for it," Minato replied sadly. "But that doesn't explain why he doesn't know that we're his parents. We must have died when he was very young for him to not remember us."

"But why wouldn't he know of us? What purpose would there be in withholding that information from him?" Kushina asked, perplexed.

They both sat there awkwardly, the silence thick with tension as they pondered.

"See why we can't go talk to him just yet?" Minato asked wryly.

Kushina glared at him sharply before turning away. She nodded mutely.

"I've already got him set up for interrogation at ANBU headquarters when he's discharged from hospital. Sensei's also supposed to be helping out with it too."

"Jiraiya's in town?" Kushina asked, surprised.

"Yeah, had a chat to him the other day about it all."

"But should we be interrogating him?" she asked quietly.

"He'll get suspicious if we don't do it properly," he said resignedly. "Besides, we need answers, regardless of whether he's our son or not, this is the best way to go about it."

"Alright then," she said with a sigh. "But I'm witnessing it, no 'if's' and 'but's' about it."

Minato nodded in acknowledgment, rising from the table.

"I guess we'll have a better idea of what going on in a couple days then," he said quietly, sweeping out of the room and leaving his wife alone at the table to ponder in solitude.

---

**Author Notes:** Shorter than usual and extremely late. Life got decidedly busier, and writer's block ain't no picnic either. As life isn't going to get any quieter for me anytime soon (yay for uni exams! OTL'''), I can't say when the next chapter will be out. Please check my profile if the wait gets excessively long (more than a couple of months) as I will have an indication on the progress there. Once again, thanks so much for all your support in this.


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